What happened to Taylor Swift’s relationship with Joe Alwyn? Did they get marry secretely?
Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce reignites questions about her past with Joe Alwyn.
The internet is buzzing after Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce shared their engagement news with a dreamy set of photos taken in a lush garden backdrop. But as Swifties celebrated, a familiar question resurfaced: was Taylor Swift ever engaged before?
Most of the speculation points back to her six-year relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, which spanned from 2016 to 2023. Their romance was her longest and most private, sparking years of engagement rumors and even whispers of a secret wedding. But what’s the truth?
Engagement Rumors During the Alwyn Era
While the couple never confirmed an engagement, tabloids repeatedly fanned the flames. Joe himself once addressed the chatter in a Wall Street Journal interview, cheekily saying, “If I had a pound for every time I’ve been told I’m engaged, I’d have a lot of pound coins. If the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say.”
Fans often turned to Taylor’s lyrics for clues. On Lover, she sang about marriage in “Paper Rings,” but on The Tortured Poets Department, heartbreak seeped into “So Long, London” with lines about “dying at the altar waiting for proof.” Swifties interpreted this as a nod to a proposal that never came. Her Fortnight video, featuring a wedding dress and ring, only fueled more theories.
Secret Wedding Claims—and Denials
Some corners of the internet believed Taylor and Joe may have secretly tied the knot in a “non-legal ceremony.” That speculation gained traction when DeuxMoi published an anonymous tip. But Swift’s longtime publicist, Tree Paine, shut it down firmly on Twitter: “There was NEVER a marriage or ceremony of ANY kind.”
Why the Relationship Ended
After their split, neither Taylor nor Joe shared details publicly. Alwyn later called the breakup “amicable” but admitted it was difficult. Sources close to the couple said the relationship thrived during the pandemic when they lived in a “bubble” away from fame—but faltered when life returned to normal.
Taylor’s lyrics paint a sharper picture: a woman ready for marriage and public devotion, and a partner who preferred privacy. That mismatch, many believe, ultimately drove them apart.
Songs Believed to Be About Joe Alwyn
Swift has never confirmed which tracks are about Joe, but fans have built a playlist believed to reflect their love story and breakup. Songs tied to the Alwyn era include: Gorgeous, Lover, Cornelia Street, Daylight, Invisible String, Lavender Haze, and You’re Losing Me. Entire albums like Lover and much of Folklore and Evermore are widely thought to document different chapters of their relationship.